Wednesday, June 17, 2009

As you enter the Ed Sullivan Theatre, the home of David Letterman since 1993, you develop a sense of déjà vu. The French would call it a sense of having been there before. As much as the guests, the band or any of the comedy, the theatre has been the star of the show since Letterman went to CBS. They say the camera adds ten pounds, but it also seems to add ten yards to your perception. Everything I had seen on TV, like the desk and the stage was there but on a smaller scale then watching at home would have you believe. This was not the first time I had been to a television taping as I had seen lame Canadian Game Show “Just Like Mom” as a kid and lame Canadian Talk Show “Camilla Scott” as a teen.

Due to our place in line we were led to seats in the front row, right beside the announcer’s desk. While the audience relegated to the balcony was promised a clear view of the stage, being able to put our feet up on the stage was pretty sweet. The half hour before the taping chock full of entertainment value. It started when the interns gathered on stage and led us clapping through a couple of alt- rock songs. Our hands numb with sores we were introduced to the warm up comedian Eddie Brill. Brill, who also works as talent coordinator on the show, yet lacks any discernible talent. He led us through more clapping practice and then introduced a classic “Late Show” clip featuring Dave working at a Taco Bell After the clip he told a couple of jokes about how touristy Times Square had become, which were as stale as a Times Square Hot Dog Bun.

Brill led us through some more clapping instructions. We were supposed to clap heavily at the beginning of the show after the announcer said “It’s The Late Show with Dayyyyvid Letterman.” The CBS Orchestra was introduced individually and played two songs. Paul Schaffer was introduced for the second song, with some tepid applause from a heavily Canadian audience. We dutifully clapped through a couple of well played tunes while I wondered if there would be any clap left in me for the show?

David Letterman was introduced and came running to the stage as the digital clock reached 4:27. Whenever anyone sees a star they are always asked how they look in real life. Well with Letterman, who looks and acts younger then his 62 years of age there were no surprises. In his classic style he started by informing us that while many of his shows he has produced over the past 30 years have been classics, this would not be one of them. After a couple of jokes he was able to take one question from the audience. For what must have been the 500th time, the lucky audience member asked if he could switch ties with the host. Letterman made a joke about the mans tie, left the stage and the band started playing the theme song as the clock hit 4:30.

Will we find out how a blog post can be longer then the show that it is about? The thrilling conclusion awaits in Part 4!